The winners of the SIMI 2021 Grand Prix, sponsored by Groupama Immobilier, were announced on 8 December 2021. One of the prizes, for constructions built between September 2020 and September 2021, was awarded to the new headquarters of Oui Care.  The headquarters, located in Le Mans, France, took the prize in the New Office Building of 10 000 m2 or Greater category.

Care: the key word

Initially, the designers of the project proposed the name ‘Just Care’ for the building, which the project manager imagined as "a headquarters that could best take care of its employees."

The usage of the word ‘care’ “perfectly sums up the vocation of home services - a profession based on people. Oui Care was born of a conviction: a satisfied, happy, and fulfilled employee in his or her job is a 99.9% guarantee of a satisfied customer. As a company, it is our responsibility to take care of our employees and to put them in the best possible conditions to accomplish their mission: to satisfy our customers," says Guillaume Richard, president and founder of Oui Care.

Facts and figures

The new Oui Care headquarters offers its employees 600 offices over 7500 m2, five accessible terraces over 1078 m2, a sports ground, a fitness room, and a weight room in addition to 184 parking spaces and a day care on the ground floor of the building. The site is easily accessible due to its location in the immediate vicinity of the Le Mans TGV rail station, but it also encourages employees to cycle to work thanks to numerous cycle paths. Additionally, the Oui Care headquarters has been designed with an exemplary environmental quality approach.*

Winning the SIMI Grand Prix is a great source of pride for the teams who contributed to the realisation of this project: Oui Care as the project owner and AIA Life Designers as the architect and design office.  ArcelorMittal Europe - Flat Products supplied Granite® Silky Shine steel in Sienna for the facade, which was produced by ArcelorMittal partner Ateliers 3S.

Granite® Silky Shine is a coating system that ensures excellent colour stability over time thanks to its excellent performance in terms of durability, corrosion resistance, and UV resistance.

*For more information on the winning project, please see Oui Care’s press release.

Text:
Constructalia

Images:
OUI CARE
AIA Architectes

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The successful transformation of the steel industry includes zero-emissions steel products being accepted by the end user – and green steel certificates are an important part of this mission.

ArcelorMittal’s partners are key

From ArcelorMittal's point of view, the companies making steel products for end consumers play a central role in reaching this goal. “In the case of ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® green steel certificates, our customers who purchase the certificates can pass the CO2 savings onto their end customer, in line with the Scope 3 accounting approach,” says Jochen Grünewald, Managing Director of ArcelorMittal Commercial DACH.

Bette, a manufacturer of high-quality bathroom elements made of enamelled titanium alloy steel, and OLINT®, a producer of roofing applications under its Rufster brand, are just two of the many ArcelorMittal partners making valuable use of the XCarb® green steel certificates from ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products.

Bette makes first XCarb® green steel certificates purchase

The managing director of sanitary supplier Bette, Thilo C. Pahl, is on board with ArcelorMittal’s goals: “We have ordered the first 1000 tons of steel based on XCarb® green steel certificates for our products and see this as a contribution to support ArcelorMittal in the required transformation. In addition, steel produced with a lower carbon footprint fits very well into our own sustainability strategy.”

The shift towards CO2-neutral products is already evident to Bette: "We are currently noticing an increasing interest and demand for green products and our efforts and ambitions in the area of sustainable resource management,” says Thilo C. Pahl.

OLINT® inspires customers to think green with XCarb®

Producing and selling roofing tiles, guttering, and other accessories typically made from organic coated Granite® Quartz and Granite® Ultramat from ArcelorMittal under the Rufster brand, OLINT® passes on the reduction of Scope 3 emissions to their customers.

Their goal is to inspire clients to make environmentally friendly purchasing decisions when buying roofing products. “We want to actively involve customers in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions across the industry,” says Liviu Cusiac, CEO of OLINT®, who have recently purchased XCarb® green steel certificates for 195 tonnes of Granite® pre-painted steel. “Normally this amount of steel would result in just over 400 tonnes of CO2 emissions. All [customers] need to do is place an order for Rufster products made with XCarb® green steel certificates! It’s that simple,” notes Liviu Cusiac.

Text:
Constructalia
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications

Images:
ArcelorMittal
Bette
OLINT®

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Bette

OLINT®

Epco, a leading producer of insulated panels for garage, commercial, and industrial doors, has recently purchased XCarb® green steel certificates from ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products with the Granite® organic coated steel used in its products.

“ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® green steel certificates will help us orient the door market towards a greener future,” says Luc De Deygere, CEO of Epco. “We see the certificates as a major opportunity for all involved.”

Greener production routes

Epco is very aware of the need to continue its active role in helping the world to reduce carbon emissions as Luc De Deygere explains: “The recent flooding in Belgium and Germany and the forest fires in the south of Europe are clear indications that climate change is happening faster than expected. As a business, Epco has already taken action to reduce our carbon footprint. That has seen us install solar panels on the factory roof and make use of electric vehicles. But we need to do more. That’s why we have decided to purchase ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® green steel certificates.”

“We are working with our suppliers to identify raw materials with a low environmental footprint and which contain as much recycled content as possible,” says Luc De Deygere. “These materials must be easy to recycle. Steel is already very environmentally friendly as it contains a lot of recycled material, and it can be recycled over and over. The XCarb® green steel certificates help to confirm this advantage.”

Motivating customers

Epco will pass the XCarb® green steel certificates on to its customers. “We hope they will help to motivate them to follow greener production routes,” says Luc De Deygere. “That will bring real change to the door market.”

About Epco

Belgian company Epco supplies panels under two main brand names – Epco and Tecsedo – from three production sites in Belgium, Poland, and Switzerland. The panels are supplied to customers who provide complete door solutions to end customers around the world.

More info: www.epco.be

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Constructalia

Images:
Epco

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Across Europe, standing seam roofs are a key feature in the landscape of many cities and towns. Made from flexible metals, they are an ideal solution for the odd-shaped roofs of apartment blocks and public buildings where every millimetre of space under the roof is utilised. The standing seam provides a high level of resistance to wind and excellent watertightness, making it a popular roofing solution today. Organic coated steels such as the Granite® HFX Cool range from ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products offer the necessary pliability, combined with a hard-wearing finish that is guaranteed for up to 20 years. Bevego, a leading provider of roofing solutions and equipment for the Swedish market, recently started utilising the latest product in the range – Granite® HFX Cool Matt.

Standing seam roofing

Traditional standing seams are formed from strips of metal which are laid vertically down the roof. The standing seam is formed by bending up the edge of a strip and folding it over, together with the edge of the neighbouring strip. The result is a double standing seam which is totally weatherproof.

Roofing complexity demands ductility

“To achieve the double standing seam, roofers need flexible materials,” says Johan Cronhamn, business area manager for Bevego. “For complicated roofs with lots of dormer windows and chimneys, the work has to be done on site and at height. Granite® HFX Cool Matt handles well and can be formed at temperatures down to -10°C – a key consideration when it comes to the Swedish climate!”

Traditionally, standing seam roofs were made with copper and zinc – metals which are initially bright but become duller over time. In the early 2000s, materials with a gloss finish became more popular. Over the last few years, the market has switched back, explains Johan Cronhamn: “There is a strong preference now for low-gloss roofing. The steel is bent and pressed into shape on the roof and the matt colour disguises any minor marks. That is another reason for the growing popularity of Granite® HFX Cool Matt.”

Magnelis® – the new material for standing seams

Bevego has also been working with a sister company to develop roadside safety equipment out of Magnelis® coated steels from ArcelorMittal. From autumn 2021 they will start to use Magnelis® for standing seam roofs. “Architects like the patina that darkens over time, and Magnelis® has minimal reflectivity, making it suitable for low buildings,” says Johan Cronhamn.

“The Magnelis® we use in roadside applications has a thickness of around 3.0 mm, and it is able to withstand the very corrosive effects of road salts,” notes Johan Cronhamn. “In roofing applications, we will use it in a thickness of 0.6 mm. That will provide the material flexibility roofers need, and long-term protection against corrosion.”

About Bevego

Bevego is a leading provider of sheet metal, ventilation systems, and equipment for roofing and industry applications. Based in Sweden, the company operates more than 30 retail outlets, a steel service centre, and four plants which produce ventilation systems.

Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Constructalia

Images:
brizmaker / Adobe Stock by courtesy of Bevego
Palatinate Stock / Shutterstock.com

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